Ethiopia: Comboni family makes annual retreat

Each day had its own theme developed in two talks: The pilgrim’s service, Enlightened faces at the service of God’s light, Serving as community, The service of reconciliation, Mary’s service as Mother and Percursor, and, finally, At the service of the greater project. The facilitator prepared a handout for each talk to guide the participants’ reflexion and prayer. He also distributed some short texts for spiritual reading. The daily common schedule included two meditations, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the celebration of the Eucharist with the evening prayer. Time for personal prayer and reflexion, rest and exercise was aplenty.

Ethiopian Sr Manna Fessuh, who teaches at Hawassa’s Comboni Secondary School, was grateful to God and to the facilitator for her time of prayer and meditation. “It was a rich time when God invites all of us to deepen our relationship with Him, since we are called to be a ‘sign’ of God among his people. I feel that a good relationship with Jesus brings into birth something new within us and transforms us in our day-to-day life”, she said.

And she concluded: “I pray that we may be nourished and enlightened with the Word of God that makes a real ‘serving sign’ and ‘true givers of life’ in God.”

Kenyan-born Fr Isaiah Nyakundi is the MCCJ vice-provincial superior and Gublak’s parish-priest. Insecurity issues in the Amhara Regional State retained him one week in Bahir Dar, but he managed arrive two days after the retreat started. “It has been a moment of resting with the Lord as well as encountering Him. At the end I feel energized spiritually to start afresh the mission entrusted to me. I feel that the Lord is seeing me out anew to be bread to his people who wait to be served by me”, he shared.

The participants expressed their gratitude to Fr Domingues for guiding their reflections and prayer along the paths of mission service with expertise and depth, “giving us good food for the journey of this year” – as Sr Manna put it. A big thank you also to the Center’s staff for their great catering and caring service.

Consolata Spiritual Centre is a very welcoming and beautiful small green oasis full of acacias and other trees, birds and flowers in bustling Mojo city, fifty kilometers South of Addis Ababa. It was during one week the lonely place where the thirteen missionaries rested, learned, shared and prayed with the Lord of the Mission.

Nice sunny days, with very few spells of rain and thunder, also contributed to the success of the spiritual fitness exercise. The warm weather helped the missionaries who came from the wet mountains in the South to dry their bones.

Next year, will be the turn of the Comboni Missionary Sisters to organize the interprovincial event.

Joe Vieira, mccj